Wednesday, March 01, 2017

Hello, it's me

Hey guys. So, I've been MIA for a while, I know. I feel like I say this at least once a year, but the blog was beginning to feel like a second job instead of a hobby, and I just needed to get away from it for a while. I received some very sweet messages from several of you in the meantime though, asking where I was, how I was. I really appreciate your concern and thoughtfulness.

As I feared at the time, I think I pushed myself too hard last summer with the Refashion Runway and The Refashioners back-to-back like that. Until this past weekend, I hadn't even touched my sewing machine since September. Even that striped sweater I shared with you in December was actually refashioned back in August as a back-up plan for the RR tunic challenge. But fear not! I busted out the serger and sewing machine on Saturday, so I'll have some stuff (albeit it simple, baby steps stuff) to show you very soon.

While my sewing creativity seems to wax and wane, my knitting juices are always flowing. Maybe it's the necessity for more creative vision and problem solving that is inherent to refashioning. I mean, if you're trying to recycling existing materials, then you're obviously limited by those materials. Whereas, with knitting, that yarn could be virtually anything you want it to be. Plus, I have a backlog of things I want to knit, so I never run out of ideas.

My tiny baby niece was born in December, five weeks premature. She progressed so well though and escaped the NICU after only two weeks, wearing a hand-knit ensemble, naturally. Then there were holidays gifts for her older brothers: a reversible, double-knit Space Invaders cowl for the 12-year-old and for the 6-year-old, a scaled-down, elongated, scarf version of my Apatosaurus Shawl with added leg nubbins for extra dino-likeness. Their father, my brother, got a viking hat to match his majestic facial hair. He's not really as threatening as he looks here, I swear.

In January, I raided my stash for pink yarn and sent thirteen hats to Washington for the Women's March. I even made another, in a slightly different style, for myself and wore it to our local demonstration. Then there was some sporty, spirit knitting in the form of a simple green hat for the hubs to wear to Dallas Stars games and a pair of socks for my mom in the school colors of the university where she works.

I did a little selfish knitting too. A friend gave me some Shibui Silk Cloud, which is a marvelous mix of silk and mohair. I used the three colors to work up a Gradient cowl, by working with three strands and changing out one color at a time for a slow color change effect. And I just completed a pair of U-Turn socks this weekend using one skein of Schoppel Wolle's Crazy Zauberball.

I also took comfort in a little political cross-stitching (patterns by Subversive Cross Stitch) and an original design, inspired by our sweet doofus, Laika.

So that's what I've been up to lately. I promise to be back again soon.

Good to see you back. I always enjoy your posts because they are such high quality, but the person who should be enjoying it most is you. Wear some of your wonderful refashions and wallow in your talent for a while.

Glad to hear things are good! As always, your kitting and stitching is the S***. I was just on Reddit and stumbled upon a link you may or may not have seen. You came to mind... But ONLY because you knit... NOT because this dude looks weird, LOL (I promise!)...

So, I popped in here... I see you too have been "absent"... Which is oddly funny because this link may or may not be the inspiration you need... The title of the imgur album is self explanatory...

SO many amazing projects! Love the Viking hat, love all the pink hats you knitted, and LOVE your cross-stitches! I might have to learn to cross-stitch just so I can copy your "Nevertheless, she persisted" idea. Also, the cowl you knitted with the silk/mohair yarn...SWOON.